Friends and family of NBA legend Kobe Bryant packed out the Staples Center for a memorial in his honor on Monday. Beyoncé was one of the many guests to take the stage to perform a touching tribute for her longtime friend.

During her performance of her two songs "Halo" and "XO," the singer made mention of her friendship with Bryant that dates back to the 90s, the Los Angeles Times reports.

“I’m here because I love Kobe. And this was one of his favorite songs,” Beyonce said.

Kobe hopped on the set of Destiny's Child's ‘Bug-A-Boo'

Back in 1999, Bryant, who was a rap enthusiast, appeared on the remix of Destiny's Child's "Say My Name." He was also featured in the music video for the group's song "Bug-A-Boo."

“I had known Beyoncé and Kelly [Rowland] for a long time,” Bryant told Fox Sports in 2019. “Our careers were kind of parallel tracking. I was just starting to try to come into my own, they were doing the same thing. We were kind of ascending at the same time.”

Bryant's friendship expanded well into the Knowles family. While on the set for the music video for "Bug-A-Boo," Mathew Knowles, Beyoncé's dad and former manager for Destiny's Child, took the late basketball player up on a game of one on one. 

Knowles later revealed that Bryant had requested front-row seats to a Beyoncé show.

“‘I wanted to watch greatness because I know I would learn from it,’” he quoted Bryant as saying. “That’s the kind of person he was. He came alone because he wanted to lock in and focus.”

The Carters and Kobe Bryant were fans of each other

It's clear the Carters were just as big fans of Bryant as he was of them. 

During an interview in 2009, Beyoncé highlighted the basketball player's work ethic as a reason for him being the NBA player she admired the most.

“I can always see that he’s focused, he works harder than I can ever imagine…it’s just like he’s just in the zone. He’s undeniable as far as his talent,” she said.

As a Jay-Z fan, it was known that before Lakers games Bryant would listen to the rapper's music, The Players' Tribune reports. His teammates often said Bryant would rap Jay-Z's songs in their entirety, word for word, just days after release — a sentiment his wife shared while speaking about Gianna's bond with her dad during the memorial.

"She [Gianna Bryant] had Kobe's ability to listen to a song and have all the lyrics memorized after listening to the song a couple of times. It was their secret talent," Vanessa said.

Final words with the NBA legend

Days after Bryant's death, the rapper shared his last conversation with the 41-year-old. During his first Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter Lecture series at Columbia University on February 4, The New York native revealed he had last spoken with Bryant during a New Year's party just weeks before his passing alongside his daughter, Gianna, and seven others, Entertainment Tonight reports.

"He was last in my house on New Year's and he was just in the greatest space that I've seen him in," Jay-Z recalled. "One of the last things he said to me was, 'You gotta see Gianna play basketball.' And that was one of the most hurtful things because he was so proud."

"The look on his face was like…I looked at him and said, 'Oh, she's going to be the best female basketball player in the world,'" he continued. "He was just so proud of what he said."

The mogul went on to say that Bryant's death has been challenging for him and Beyoncé who had formed a close bond with the former Los Angeles Lakers player and his wife, Vanessa.

"That's really a tough one and my wife and I took that, are taking that, really tough. That's all I'll say on that," he shared. "Just a great human being that was in a great space in his life."

Still affected by his passing, the Carters opted to sit out the 2020 Grammys despite Beyoncé being nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance and other awards, according to In Touch Weekly.

“They supported Diddy at his ceremony and had their annual Roc Nation brunch, but they had no intention on going to the awards show,” a source told In Touch Weekly. 

On Instagram, Beyoncé posted multiple pictures of Kobe and Gianna. She shared a picture of the father and daughter duo by themselves before captioning a photo of them together, "I will continue to diligently pray for your Queens. You are deeply missed beloved Kobe."

BeyoncéJAY-ZKobe-bryant